Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra To Start From Manipur Amid Restrictions

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi along with other prominent leaders on Sunday will commence the second edition of the extensive outreach program, Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, from Thoubal district near Imphal. In view of the tense situation in Manipur, the state government imposed some restrictions on the Congress march. According to the reports, Thoubal deputy commissioner has only allowed a maximum 3000 participants and one hour to flag off the ceremony.

The reports said that authorities imposed the time limit as Congress' march may affect the traffic on national highways. The police have advised commuters to take alternate routes during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

Initially, Congress had planned to start the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Imphal Palace Ground, which was later shifted to a private ground in Thoubal after N Biren Singh government restricted the number of participants.

The state government's order said, "There shall be no anti-national or communal or any adverse slogan during the rally and the Yatra." The order also underlined that the permission for Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra would stand canceled if any situation arose "warranting such gathering to be disassembled in order to maintain peace, public order, and tranquility in the area".

As per the Congress' plan, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will travel through 100 Lok Sabha segments in 15 states. It will start from Manipur and conclude in Maharashtra after traveling through Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. The Yatra will be held between January 14 to March 21.